Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, May 22
Mesa, Ariz.
2 p.m.
Grand Canyon
34-22
11
vs
2
CSU Bakersfield
24-34
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CSU Bakersfield
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
8
5
Grand Canyon
0
1
3
0
4
0
1
2
X
11
16
1
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Photo by: Darryl Webb
Rout starts WAC tourney ideally
5/22/2019 6:07:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro
Lopes pepper Bakersfield with 16 hits, ride Ohl's arm to 11-2 win
MESA, Ariz. – Playing the first round of the WAC Baseball Tournament may not seem ideal with an extra game to win in the quest to survive the double-elimination bracket.
Not for Grand Canyon. The Lopes played the tourney opener so ideally Wednesday with an 11-2 against CSU Bakersfield at Hohokam Stadium that they can't imagine not having that experience or momentum.
"We wanted to play as many games as we could," said GCU junior left fielder Kona Quiggle, who homered, tripled and singled amid a 16-hit attack. "This is right up our alley."
A year ago, GCU was a two-time regular-season conference champion playing in its first WAC Tournament with a first-round bye. The Lopes were stunned 3-2 in their debut to fourth-seeded Seattle, which was coming off an 8-3 first-round win, and exited the tourney a game later.
This year, GCU (34-22) is a No. 4 seed that finished one game out of first place and rolls into a 3 p.m. Thursday game against seconded-seeded UT Rio Grande Valley (34-19) after GCU's pitchers allowed one earned run and its batters knocked 16 hits to set the program's winningest Division I season.
"It's like a monkey off our backs to get our first win in the tournament and first win at Hohokam," said Lopes senior second baseman Austin Bull, who matched his season high with three hits. "Hopefully, it just opens the floodgates. I think we have an advantage because we have some momentum now."
The floodgates parted Wednesday when GCU took a 4-0 lead after three innings and stayed downstream with freshman pitcher Pierson Ohl delivering his seventh consecutive quality start. After allowing one earned run over seven innings in Wednesday's start, Ohl has an ERA of 2.03 over those seven games.
Ohl's composure, especially on a postseason stage, does not look like that of a freshman. But he is reminded of his year on his WAC Freshman of the Year plaque and one other place.
"In the clubhouse, I feel like a freshman," Ohl said. "Not on the field, though."
Ohl was steady and crafty, throwing strikes on 76 percent of his 91 pitches. He only allowed runs on sacrifice flies and received defensive help with two diving catches by senior center fielder Preston Pavlica.
"It's good to get out of the gate well," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "Pierson Ohl, just a great pitching performance by him to settle us in."
Bakersfield starter Edgar Barclay, a former GateWay Community College pitcher in Phoenix, led the WAC this season with 109 strikeouts and held opponents to .218 hitting. But GCU got to him heavily for the second time this season, knocking 10 hits in five innings for an 8-1 lead after five innings.
Barclay gave up 13 earned runs in eight innings against GCU this season but had a 2.62 ERA against all other teams.
Five players were in two-strike holes when they delivered hits Wednesday, including two from Quiggle.
"That's who we've got to be," Stankiewicz said after his 250th career win. "We've got to be really competitive in the box and figure out ways to put balls in play and put pressure on the defense."
Quiggle started the scoring when he hammered a 420-foot drive off the center-field batter's eye for a triple and scored on a fielding error.
Quiggle took a more traditional round trip on his next at bat, pulling an 0-2 pitch beyond the right-field bullpens for his team-high tying 11th home run and a 7-1 lead.
"I was just trying to put a ball in play," Quiggle said. "We had guys in scoring position. I got a pitch up in the zone and I threw the barrel at it."
Senior designated Pikai Winchester returned to action from an oblique injury for the first time since April 28 and went 3 for 4, including an RBI double that put GCU ahead 8-1. GCU is now tied for second in the nation in doubles, trailing only Arizona, after having a six-double game for the sixth time this season.
That lead survived a scare when Bakersfield loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning against GCU sophomore reliever Frankie Scalzo, who escaped by striking out the next two batters and inducing an inning-ending ground out.
Sophomore first baseman Cuba Bess, coming off a 5-for-5 game, joined Bull, Quiggle and Winchester with a three-hit game Wednesday.
The offense restored momentum for a team that had won 13 consecutive WAC games until Friday, when it lost one game in the bottom of the ninth and another despite outhitting Sacramento State 11-2. Winning either game would have given GCU a four-way share of the WAC title.
Wins like Wednesday's victory are more meaningful, especially for the returnees who have been motivated to have a better WAC Tournament experience than last year.
"This is awesome," Quiggle said. "We came out and set the tone, which is great. With this group of guys, it's going to be an awesome week."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Not for Grand Canyon. The Lopes played the tourney opener so ideally Wednesday with an 11-2 against CSU Bakersfield at Hohokam Stadium that they can't imagine not having that experience or momentum.
"We wanted to play as many games as we could," said GCU junior left fielder Kona Quiggle, who homered, tripled and singled amid a 16-hit attack. "This is right up our alley."
A year ago, GCU was a two-time regular-season conference champion playing in its first WAC Tournament with a first-round bye. The Lopes were stunned 3-2 in their debut to fourth-seeded Seattle, which was coming off an 8-3 first-round win, and exited the tourney a game later.
This year, GCU (34-22) is a No. 4 seed that finished one game out of first place and rolls into a 3 p.m. Thursday game against seconded-seeded UT Rio Grande Valley (34-19) after GCU's pitchers allowed one earned run and its batters knocked 16 hits to set the program's winningest Division I season.
"It's like a monkey off our backs to get our first win in the tournament and first win at Hohokam," said Lopes senior second baseman Austin Bull, who matched his season high with three hits. "Hopefully, it just opens the floodgates. I think we have an advantage because we have some momentum now."
The floodgates parted Wednesday when GCU took a 4-0 lead after three innings and stayed downstream with freshman pitcher Pierson Ohl delivering his seventh consecutive quality start. After allowing one earned run over seven innings in Wednesday's start, Ohl has an ERA of 2.03 over those seven games.
Ohl's composure, especially on a postseason stage, does not look like that of a freshman. But he is reminded of his year on his WAC Freshman of the Year plaque and one other place.
"In the clubhouse, I feel like a freshman," Ohl said. "Not on the field, though."
Ohl was steady and crafty, throwing strikes on 76 percent of his 91 pitches. He only allowed runs on sacrifice flies and received defensive help with two diving catches by senior center fielder Preston Pavlica.
"It's good to get out of the gate well," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "Pierson Ohl, just a great pitching performance by him to settle us in."
Bakersfield starter Edgar Barclay, a former GateWay Community College pitcher in Phoenix, led the WAC this season with 109 strikeouts and held opponents to .218 hitting. But GCU got to him heavily for the second time this season, knocking 10 hits in five innings for an 8-1 lead after five innings.
Barclay gave up 13 earned runs in eight innings against GCU this season but had a 2.62 ERA against all other teams.
Five players were in two-strike holes when they delivered hits Wednesday, including two from Quiggle.
"That's who we've got to be," Stankiewicz said after his 250th career win. "We've got to be really competitive in the box and figure out ways to put balls in play and put pressure on the defense."
Quiggle started the scoring when he hammered a 420-foot drive off the center-field batter's eye for a triple and scored on a fielding error.
Quiggle took a more traditional round trip on his next at bat, pulling an 0-2 pitch beyond the right-field bullpens for his team-high tying 11th home run and a 7-1 lead.
"I was just trying to put a ball in play," Quiggle said. "We had guys in scoring position. I got a pitch up in the zone and I threw the barrel at it."
Senior designated Pikai Winchester returned to action from an oblique injury for the first time since April 28 and went 3 for 4, including an RBI double that put GCU ahead 8-1. GCU is now tied for second in the nation in doubles, trailing only Arizona, after having a six-double game for the sixth time this season.
That lead survived a scare when Bakersfield loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning against GCU sophomore reliever Frankie Scalzo, who escaped by striking out the next two batters and inducing an inning-ending ground out.
Sophomore first baseman Cuba Bess, coming off a 5-for-5 game, joined Bull, Quiggle and Winchester with a three-hit game Wednesday.
The offense restored momentum for a team that had won 13 consecutive WAC games until Friday, when it lost one game in the bottom of the ninth and another despite outhitting Sacramento State 11-2. Winning either game would have given GCU a four-way share of the WAC title.
Wins like Wednesday's victory are more meaningful, especially for the returnees who have been motivated to have a better WAC Tournament experience than last year.
"This is awesome," Quiggle said. "We came out and set the tone, which is great. With this group of guys, it's going to be an awesome week."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ohl, Pierson (7-4)
L: Barclay, Edgar (6-4)
Batting:
RBI: Barba, Noah 1 ; Charles, Eric 1
SH: Barba, Noah 1
SF: Barba, Noah 1 ; Charles, Eric 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Berkey, Evan 2
SB: Koch, Ryan 1
HBP: Ortega, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Cotton, Quin 1 ; Bess, Cuba 2 ; Bull, Austin 1 ; Winchester, Pikai 2
3B: Quiggle, Kona 1
HR: Quiggle, Kona 1
RBI: Bess, Cuba 2 ; Wyatt, Tyler 2 ; Quiggle, Kona 3 ; Winchester, Pikai 1 ; Avitia, David 1
SH: Wyatt, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pavlica, Preston 1 ; Cotton, Quin 3 ; Bess, Cuba 3 ; Quiggle, Kona 2 ; Bull, Austin 2
HBP: Bess, Cuba 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
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